


Peeta's Morning Walk

by trinaest



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-05
Updated: 2011-01-05
Packaged: 2017-10-15 07:25:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/158457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trinaest/pseuds/trinaest





	Peeta's Morning Walk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wanderlustlover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderlustlover/gifts).



Peeta sighed when he woke up and found the other side of the bed empty. It happened more often than he liked; Katniss couldn’t sleep--or woke up after a nightmare--and, most likely, went out for a walk in the early morning. Fortunately, he knew where he would find her.

He checked on the children before he left. They were both asleep, but Prim was old enough to take care of her little brother if they woke up before he got back.

In the downstairs hallway, Peeta paused to put on a pair of walking shoes and slip into a light jacket.

Peeta stepped outside into the pre-dawn chill of a late spring morning. He set off toward the meadow and the forest beyond. Along the way, he took time to notice the flowers--starting to brown as summer approached, but still beautiful--and to admire the town itself. District 12 had been nearly wiped out by the Capitol’s retaliation, but it was springing back up slowly. This new version was different, but, he thought, a good different. He couldn’t help but feel proud of that, although it was pride tinged with melancholy.

He found Katniss where he always found her, in the spot where she and Gale met before their hunts. It used to bother him that she always went here, but after enough years had passed it was easier to believe that she really chose him over Gale and that it wasn’t just some feeling of obligation. Or worse, despair.

He lowered himself carefully next to Katniss, absentmindedly taking care with his artificial leg. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, still staring at the view. She felt a little chilled, so he tugged her closer.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just breathing together. Then Katniss turned to him and reached out to touch his face. She smiled at him weakly and said, without being asked, “Real.”

It was all he ever needed to know.


End file.
